


Best Time of the Day

by Gingerwerk



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Bliss, M/M, nix has a puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-03 22:30:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5309447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gingerwerk/pseuds/Gingerwerk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This right here was probably Lewis’ favorite part of Sundays; just him, Dick, and a book.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Best Time of the Day

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr prompt written for my friend joe, aka tumblr user warrickstokes :)

* * *

The sound of the rain beating against the glass of the windows was almost as calming to Lewis as the sound of Dick’s voice while he read aloud.

 

“ _All this happened, more or less._ _The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true,”_ Dick read aloud from the paperback book he held in his hands. “ _One guy I knew really was shot in Dresden for taking a teapot that wasn't his. Another guy I knew really did threaten to have his personal enemies killed by hired gunmen after the war. And so on. I've changed all the names_. _”_

 

Lewis sat with his back pressed against Dick’s front, his head rested against Dick’s shoulder, his ear so close to Dick’s chest he could just barely make out the soft, rhythmic beating of his heart. Their legs were stretched out in front of them and tangled together while they sat on the window seat that was in the den of their home. Dick’s arms were wrapped around him while he held the book out in front of Lewis, positioned so that he could read text if he wished.

 

_“I went back there with an old war buddy, Bernard V. O'Hare, and we made friends with a taxi driver, who took us to the slaughterhouse where we had been locked up at night as prisoner of war_ ,” Dick recited in an even cadence. _“His name was Gerhard Müller. He told us that he was a prisoner of the Americans for a while.”_

 

This right here was probably Lewis’ favorite part of Sundays. Sure, he enjoyed almost everything that had to do with Sundays- sleeping in, eating the large, homemade breakfast Dick always made, taking their dog, Havoc, to the park to play –but this afternoon reading together was definitely something he looked forward to every week. Both Lewis and Dick were pretty busy during the work week and rarely had free time to spend together until the weekend rolled around. Sometimes Lewis read aloud, sometimes they took turns, but most of the time Dick read aloud for Lewis, which was how he liked it best.

 

_“When I got home from the Second World War twenty-three years ago, I thought it would be easy for me to write about the destruction of Dresden, since all I would have to do would be to report what I had seen. And I thought, too, that it would be a masterpiece or at least make me a lot of money, since the subject was so big.”_

 

Dick’s voice, spoken softly and evenly into his ear, sounded better to Lewis than every symphony, every musical, every poem, every catchy radio song he had ever heard in his life; Lewis was certain that Dick could make reciting the phonebook enjoyable.

 

_“…And so on to infinity. Over the years, people I've met have often asked me what I'm working on, and I've usually replied that the main thing was a book about Dresden.”_

 

They had a list of books to read that they worked through slowly but steadily. There was an entire bookshelf of books in the den that had not been read yet but would be eventually, on some Sunday in the future. Dick preferred reading books of classic American literature. Lewis, who had spent his entire childhood and adolescence in prep schools with classics like Shakespeare and Dickens shoved down his throat, preferred anything that weren’t those. Both Dick and Lewis were open to suggestions and were often lent reading material from their friends; today their book was a suggestion from their friend, George.

_“And on the other side of the field were thousands of Russians and Poles and Yugoslavians and so on guarded by American soldiers. An exchange was made there in the rain-one for one. O'Hare and I climbed into the back of an American truck with a lot of others.”_

 

Even though Lewis could feel the chill that leaked into the room through the not-so-thick window glass, he felt warm and relaxed. Between the old wool sweater he wore and Dick’s arms around him he felt as warm as if he were seated next to a roaring fire.

 

_“And we were flown to a rest camp in France, where we were fed chocolate malted milkshakes and other rich foods until we were all covered with baby fat. Then we were sent home, and I married a pretty girl who was covered with baby fat, too.”_

 

Lewis’ eyelids felt heavier and heavier with each passing word and every sentence Dick read seemed as if it were being said softer and slower than the one before it.

 

_“And we had babies…”_

 

Slowly Dick’s clear words were replaced by the soft, steady beat of his heart in Lewis’ ear. Any sound that Dick’s body created was just fine for Lewis.

 

“…Lewis. Lewis, wake up.”

 

Before Lewis knew what was happening, he was being gently jolted awake; Dick shook one of his arms while he spoke gently into his ear.

 

“I’m awake,” Lewis blurted out as his eyes flew open and he sat up, moving away from Dick’s body.

 

The room was darker than it was before, illuminated now by yellow lamp light instead of natural light, and the sky outside the window was filled with dark grey clouds that continued to pour out buckets of rain. Havoc now laid curled up at the edge of the window seat, his big brown eyes directed at Lewis in concern.

 

“Shit, sorry, how long was I asleep?” Lewis asked as he turned to face Dick.

 

“About a chapter and a half,” Dick answered with a smile as he flipped through the pages of the book. “You missed a lot but I may be persuaded to reread it for you, for the right price that is.”

 

“And what, may I ask, is the price for you to reread that much for me?” Lewis asked as laid back against Dick’s chest.

 

_“Hmm_ , I’m not sure. What do you have to offer me?” Dick pondered as he tightened his grip around Lewis’ waist.

 

Grinning, Lewis tilted his head back and pressed his mouth to Dick’s. It was a little awkward, the way they were positioned, but they made it work.

 

“Somehow, every Sunday, we always seem to end up here,” Dick said as he broke away from Lewis.

 

“Best time of the day,” Lewis grinned before he adjusted their positioned and kissed Dick harder than before.

 

The book slid off of Dick’s lap and onto the floor with a gentle ‘thump’, forgotten.

**Author's Note:**

> fyi, Dick's reading Slaughterhouse Five (it was the first book that came to my mind and there was a pdf of it online so...)
> 
> comments and kudos are appreciated. Thanks for reading :)


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